Lot Essay
Arthur Leipzig describes his experience photographing in the subways in his book, Growing Up in New York: "It took me six months to devise a technique that would let me photograph in the subways without destroying the atmosphere. I built a 'dog carrying box' to house my Rolleiflex camera. The box had four holes - two for the camera lenses, and two to make the box appear more authentic. There was an opening on the top for viewing and a door that I could open to focus and transport the film. A long cable release attached to the camera came up underneath the handle. The box worked beautifully. I rode the subways, photographing day and night for three months - the only difficulty I encountered being the occasional animal lover who wanted to see my 'dog.'"